Bangor infant dies after being injured by family dog

An infant died after the child was injured by the family’s dog, according to the Bangor Police Department.

The Bangor police and fire departments responded on Saturday, July 29, to a local residence after receiving a call about an injured infant, Bangor police Detective Sgt. Brent Beaulieu said Sunday morning in a statement.

The child, who had been injured by the family’s Shepherd mix, was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

“Unfortunately, the child succumbed to the injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital,” Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu declined Sunday to say where the incident took place.

Police Chief Mark Hathaway said Sunday that additional information may be released later this week and that the death remains under investigation by the Bangor Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur each year. Children are among those most at risk, particularly those who are 5 to 9 years old.

Several dog attacks occur in Maine each year, but they rarely are fatal.

In Frankfort, 7-month-old Annabelle Mitchell was mauled to death by the family dog. The infant had been home with her mother, 29-year-old Katrina Mitchell, and 2½-year-old brother on April 12, 2011, when the family’s Rottweiler attacked her.

Her death was believed to have marked the first time a dog had killed a person in at least 40 years, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said at the time.

In June of last year, 7-year-old Hunter Bragg of Bangor was killed when he was attacked by an adult male pit bull while he was playing outside a Corinna home he was visiting with his father.